Join us at Dungeon’s Gate on Saturday, September 20, at 7:00 PM, as we welcome author J.R. Dawson for a Reading, Q & A, and Signing in celebration of her newest novel: The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World.
Your ticket includes one copy of The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World + attendance at An Evening with J.R. Dawson at Dungeon’s Gate. The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World releases on Tuesday, July 29. If you would like to pick up your copy of the book to read it in advance of the event, please indicate your preference at checkout. You will be notified when your book is ready for pick-up. You will have the opportunity to have your book personalized and signed at the conclusion of the event. Personalized and signed copies will be available to be mailed anywhere in the U.S. For personalized copies, please order before noon on September 20! ➡️➡️Dungeon’s Gate will donate 20% of all sales of The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World to Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund!
About J.R. Dawson:
Dawson’s debut, The First Bright Thing, is a Golden Crown award winner. Her shorter works are in places such as F&SF, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, and Lightspeed. Dawson lives on Dakota land in Minnesota with a loving spouse and three dogs. She is a professor at Drexel University’s MFA program. Her second novel, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, is a loose sapphic retelling of Orpheus, and releases July 29, 2025. J.R. Dawson joined us in celebration of the release of her debut novel, The First Bright Thing, and we are thrilled to host her and celebrate her sophomore novel!
About The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World:
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a powerful and poignant contemporary Queer fantasy perfect for fans of Hadestown and Under the Whispering Door.
At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead. Every night, the newly-departed travel through the city to the Station, guided by its lighthouse. There, they reckon with their lives, before stepping aboard a boat to go beyond.
Nera has spent decades watching her father—the ferryman of the dead—sail across the lake, each night just like the last.
But tonight, something is wrong.
The Station’s lighthouse has started to flicker out. The terrifying, ghostly Haunts have multiplied in the city. And now a person—a living person—has found her way onto the boat.
Her name is Charlie. She followed a song. And she is searching for someone she lost.
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“Gorgeous, lyrical, heartfelt, and true in all the ways that matter! This is an achingly beautiful book that is as much about life as it is about death. Haunting and healing and highly recommended!”—Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
“An earnest, heartfelt read set in a moody, otherworldly Chicago steeped in loss and history.”—Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When Among Crows
“I love J.R. Dawson’s writing, and with The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, her magic is on full display—creating a world that is hopeless, broken, even brutal, yet with so much depth and understanding that the story becomes a lighthouse of its own.”—Ryka Aoki, award-winning author of Light from Uncommon Stars
“Greek myth, Jewish tradition, and slow-burning queer romance gracefully intertwine in this melancholy treasure. . . immersive, bittersweet, and wonderfully original.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“In turns heartbreaking, haunting, and hopeful, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a powerful novel about the memories that can break a spirit and the love that can heal it again. It’s a moving reminder that after great loss, it’s still possible to find love, joy, and light when lost in grief’s darkness.”—Heather Webber, USA Today bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café
“Gripping. . . a heartwrenching story that shines a beacon of hope.”—Booklist
“The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a stunning story focused around grief, life, and death, and I couldn’t be more impressed with how these tough topics are handled. For a book about death, it’s so full of life and love! This book made me laugh, cry, and laugh some more. Absolutely one of my favorite reads this year!”—Rebecca Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea
“In the deft hands of J.R. Dawson, death is merely a transition point. The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a poignant story of love and grief, memory and myth, and what it truly means to be alive.”—Rita Woods, award-winning author of The Edge of Yesterday
“Vivid and evocative . . . This is a novel that made me cry, more than once . . . It’s a gorgeous book, both ambitious and I think largely successful in its ambitions. I enjoyed it a great deal, and I recommend it without hesitation.”—Locus
“Moving and tense. . . A grim, authentic exploration of death for those who appreciate mythology-infused fantasy, such as Samantha Sotto Yambao’s Water Moon or Joanne M. Harris’s Orfeia.”—Library Journal
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